The Darkest Hour
by Ashes And Electricity
Summary: In his darkest, hour, Thorin finds help from someone he has not seen for many years. (Not strictly romance, eventual injured Thorin)
1. Chapter 1

Hello! It's actually really sad how long it's been since I posted anything here! But here I am again, with a brand new story that already has several chapters written. So enjoy, and please feel free to let me know what you think!

a slash in the text means that the it is a flashback.

I own nothing, sadly :(

Bilbo stood on top of the barricade in the entrance to Erebor, letting the evening breeze brush it's cool fingers through his hair. His heart hammered in his chest and he acknowledged yet again the fear that wrapped itself around him. Thorin was changed, and no one could bring him back. Not even his blood relations could penetrate the iron wall that the dragon sickness had erected around his mind. They would all die in the mountain.

Suddenly, a dark shape blotted out a silver star in the distance. Bilbo's heart sped up; it was only a day since he had last seen the great dragon fly.

His hand crept towards Sting as the dark shape winged it's way towards the mountain. Strangely, it never occurred to him to call out. He just stood there, sword partially drawn, waiting to die.

Then, a strange presence entered Bilbo's mind. An ancient, powerful mind that pushed through his thoughts like they were feathers in the breeze. His head filled with music, beautiful, ancient and strange, like the music of the Valar. Then a voice, both ruthless and gentle, penetrated the music.

(You fear me, little one.) It sounded vaguely amused.

Bilbo just shook his head in awe as the winged creature, which he had mistaken at first for a dragon, landed on the rampart and stared down at him with one golden eagle eye. Then, the shimmering plumage began to melt and shift, until a woman was standing before him, smiling.

Her brown hair had the same shimmering effect as the feathers of a bird, and it was riddled with tiny, ornate silver bands that tied of even smaller braids, muck like the style of the dwarves. A scar stretched from her cheekbone down the side of her face and neck and disappeared into the collar of her dark green silk shirt. One dark hand rested on the hilt of a huge sword, and Bilbo spied at least two more knives on her person. She rose above him, almost six feet tall and slim and toned, like she had trained for a long time. However, her most striking feature was her eyes. They were bright gold and glowed slightly in the darkness of the night. Her pupils were slightly slanted, like the eyes of a cat.

"You are Bilbo Baggins of the Shire?" She questioned, cocking her head in an unsettlingly bird like manner.

"Y-yes," Bilbo stammered awkwardly, "I thought you were a dragon."

She threw back her head and laughed, a cold, hard sound that seem more sad than joyful.

"To some, my kind is just as dangerous," her smile disappeared, "My name is Rhia and I must speak to your king."

Bilbo noticed the way her scar prevented her from truly smiling and thought of her icy laughter. This strange eagle woman reminded him uncannily of Thorin.

"Um...now might not be the best time," he tried, not wanting to see Thorin again today, "Thorin isn't well."

Rhia smiled her cold smile again.

"Mithrandir has informed me of Thorin's...ailment. It is why I am here."

"So you can cure him?" Bilbo hardly dared let himself hope. They were running out of time.

"I cannot cure him, but I can speak to him. I have walked this earth with him, and shared his hardships. If he will listen to anyone, he will listen to me."

Without waiting for an invitation, Rhia stepped lightly onto the stone stairs that led down to the Great Hall.

"Wait!" Bilbo called out, "How do I know we can trust you?"

Rhia turned, the scarred side of her face put into the light from the moon while the other remained lost in the shadow of the mountain.

"Bring me to the others. They will recognize me."

She spun and stalked down the stairs two at a time, leaving Bilbo with no choice except to follow her.

When Rhia stepped into the armoury, where all the dwarves except Thorin were eating dinner, there was a sharp intake of breath. Bilbo noticed the way the dwarves moved farther from Rhia, and Dwalin's hand strayed towards his axe.

However, Balin's facial features softened as he walked forwards and held his ring clad hand out to their guest. As Rhia grasped his hand firmly, Bilbo noticed that two of her fingers were missing.

"Rhia Empriana, Lady of the Eagles," Balin led her to an empty spot on the benches that surrounded the armoury, "You are most welcome indeed."

Dwalin stepped forward, his hand still on his axe and his eyes narrowed.

"The last time I saw you, you watched by as my people were slaughtered."

Rhia reached and touched the patterns tattooed on Dwalin's fingers and hand.

"As any great warrior knows, there is a time to fight and there is a time to wait. The dwarves who died at the Barrows were meant to die, and there was nothing I could have done to change that."

Dwalin's eyes still looked suspicious, but he accepted her and backed away. Bilbo was surprised at the awe and...was that fear? All the dwarves eyes her the same way. Whoever she was, they all knew her well.

"Where is Thorin?" She looked about, "Why has he abandoned his company?"

Balin shifted uneasily and the dwarves glanced at each other darkly.

"Thorin has been touched by the madness that killed his grandfather. He wanders the halls and treasuries, and refuses to leave, or even eat." Balin shook his head, "He is beyond reason."

Rhia stood, her strange glowing eyes catching the torchlight. Much to everyone's shock, she turned to Bilbo.

"Little one," her face changed, the hard lines softened and her lips quirked up, "You are his friend. Will you bring me to him?"

The rest of the company exchanged uneasy glances as Rhia placed her cloak, sword and now on the floor. They all noticed how she kept her twin knives and the dagger protruding from her boot.

Bilbo felt he could have cut the tension with a sword as he lead Rhia through the maze of halls towards the throne room.

"How did you come to be on this quest, little one?" She asked suddenly, shattering the silence like glass.

Bilbo was quiet a whole before answering.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure. It all happened very quickly, and before I realized what was happening, I was gone."

Bilbo heard Rhia laugh quietly and he turned to look at her.

"I know what you mean. Thorin has that effect on people."

Suddenly, a question came to Bilbo's mind.

"Where do you know Thorin from? He never mentioned knowing a shapeshifter. In fact, Beorn told us that he was the only shapeshifter left. So who are you?"

The tension returned.

"A long time ago, our parents were royalty and we came on many diplomatic missions to each others' kingdoms. Then, after the Great Dragon attacked Erebor, I hid and he left. We have not seen each other in many years."

"Who are you?" Bilbo was not deterred.

"There are many answers to that, and as time goes by you will come to understand why. However, let us suffice to say that my name is Rhia Empriana and I am Captain of the Legions of the Sky."

Bilbo came to a stop outside a great set of double doors, carved beautifully with the runes of the dwarves.

"He's in there. Would you like me to come with you?"

Rhia shook her head.

"You have done enough, little one. I will see him now," she turned and made to open the doors, then stopped, "Do not despair, Bilbo Baggins. Even the darkest places hold light, and even the smallest possessions can bring great joy. However, we must be careful not to overuse these joys, lest they lose their potency."

Her eyes fixed on his with a pointed golden stare before she turned and disappeared into the hall.

Thorin knelt in the centre of the great golden floor. His head was bowed, and he did not look up when Rhia entered.

Her boots clicking on the pure gold beneath her feet, Rhia bridged the gap towards her old friend.

"Thorin," she murmured once she was within earshot, "Time has not changed either of us, I see."

When he looked up, his eyes were not his own. They were bright with fever and wildly angry.

"Rhia," he breathed, "What are you doing here? Did the wizard sen you to meddle in my affairs?"

Rhia sat down, cross legged, on the floor and smiled sadly, her scar stretching across her jaw. She plucked out a piece of her hair and watched it morph into a feather as it fell to the floor.

"I am waiting for you to tell me why you have abandoned you honour and your company. The Thorin I knew would have lifted the weight of the world to protect his honour."

Thorin shook his head and unsheathed a dagger, twirling it between his fingers.

"Do you think that what the beggars on our doorstep want is honourable?" He spat, "It was I who reclaimed this mountain, not them, and I have the only legitimate claim to the treasure within. I bargain with no man."

"You will die here like a coward," Rhia shot back, disgusted, "Do not become your grandfather, Thorin Oakenshield."

The dagger Thorin had unsheathed earlier went sailing past the shapeshifter. Rhia quirked her sharp eyebrow.

"You will kill me for speaking the truth? Very well," Rhia flexed her wrist and two daggers shot out, hilt first, from within her sleeves, "If you win, I will leave a never return. However, if I win, you will stay here and not leave until you have come to your senses."

Giving her knives a few experimental twirls, Rhia lunged, feinting at Thorin's throat before pulling away and striking at his arm. Twisting around, Thorin touched her neck as she sent a smaller knife flying towards his foot. It glanced off with no more than a small mark.

Unbeknownst to either Thorin or Rhia, the dwarves of the company had gathered at the door, watching carefully. The battle they were witnessing was as powerful and beautiful as a storm over the sea. The two were both masters of their craft, and the victor was not clear.

In the end, Rhia twirled behind Thorin and held his head to her chest with one of her knives, while he aimed his sword at her gut.

Smiling coldly, Rhia backed away.

"Stalemate."

As Thorin backed away, brows furrowed, a foot suddenly threw him off and he found himself on the floor with a cold knife pressed against his chest.

"My dear," cold laughter filled the chamber again, "You have indeed grown out of practice. There was a time when you would have never let your guard down around me."

However, Thorin was not listening. He knelt once again on the floor, clutching his head.

"I am not my grandfather..." He muttered almost deliriously to himself.

Then, he backed away, staring with horror at the floor beneath his feet.

"Leave him," Rhia ordered, "We must go to the ramparts. It will not be long now before they need us."

The dwarves shifted uneasily and Dwalin stepped forwards.

"We do not answer to you," he said almost apologetically, "We answer to our king."

Rhia nodded sharply, but her golden eyes seemed angry.

"I will watch the ramparts. You stay by your king."

Bilbo stood for a little while at the entrance to the ramparts, watching Rhia. Seeing her there, standing in the fiery glow of sunrise, there was no doubt that she was not human. There was a strange aura around her that felt strange, older than time and more powerful than a storm.

Bilbo noticed, however, she seemed distracted as she watched the battle rage on below her. Her hand played nervously with a beautiful silver pendant around her neck.

Bilbo stepped forwards, and Rhia turned her head sharply, one hand going for her sword, which she ha put back around her waist. However, she relaxed when she saw Bilbo.

"What is it, little one?"

"I saw that pendant you wear, and I couldn't help but notice it doesn't look like any metal I have ever seen before. Where did you get it?"

Rhia's expression darkened, and memories came flooding back to her.

/

Rhia saw her parents returning from Erebor almost two hours before they actually arrived back at the eyrie. She ran to the cliff edge as her mother landed, exhausted from fighting the winds all the way back home.

"Mother! What has happened at the lonely mountain?"

For a moment, her mother could only shake her head and pant. Then,

"A...dragon," she gasped, "A dragon has attacked Erebor."

Rhia stated around. Everywhere, life for the eagles was normal, scouting parties returning from a hunt and young eagles riding the thermals created by the cliffs.

"Why is no one rallying the troops?" Rhia's voice rose in desperation, "We have to go and help them! They will die without aid!"

Rhia's mother shook her head sadly, shifting into human form so she could look her daughter directly in her golden eyes.

"They have brought this upon themselves. They will receive no help from the eagles."

Rhia watched her mother go, anger boiling inside her like a volcano. She had not felt fury like this for over a hundred years.

"Just because their king is made does not mean they are evil!" She yelled at her mother's retreating back, "There are children in there that you have just condemned to death! Women and men who know nothing of their king's crime!"

Her mother shook her head.

"This world will be made a better place with the eradication of their kind. The dwarves of Erebor are driven only by their greed. Sometimes, Rhia, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"Very well. Perhaps the dwarves will not receive your aid. But you do not command the eagle armies. That command falls to the oldest heir of the emperor and empress, which means it falls to me. And I will rally the legions and fly to Erebor whether I have your blessing or not."


	2. Chapter 2

**hello again! Thank you to the follow/favorites/reviews on this story. Unfortunately this chapter is not as long as the first one, but I hope you will enjoy it all the same. It picks up in the middle of Rhia's flashback, where the last chapter left off. Enjoy!**

 **ashes & Electricity**

The legion flew over the mountains, proud and strong, talons gleaming in the morning light.

However, when Rhia saw the smoke of battle riding from the mountain, and the gore-crows flying above, fear filled her heart. What if she was too late? What if Thorin had already died?

Signalling to the rest of the legion Rhia pulled into a steep dive, flying low over the battle. The dragon Smaug was there, killing thousands with each sweep of his fiery breath.

A moment before she would have crashed into Smaug's back, Rhia shifted into the dark warrior with the fierce golden eyes. Landing hard on her knees, she stabbed at Smaug's neck with her beautiful twin daggers, a gift from Thorin. Vaguely, she heard dwarves in the background, calling

"The eagles are coming! They are led by Lady Rhia!"

Rhia snarled, her face contorted with such a look of fear that anyone who looked on her at that moment would not have doubted that she was something more than human. How dare this beast take from her the closest thing she had ever had to a home? It would pay for what it had done.

Then, a voice called over the crowd, penetrating Rhia's red haze of animalistic fury.

"Rhia! You can't stop it! The dragon will kill you."

Rhia whipped around, bending her knees to balance on the dragon's thrashing body. Thorin stood a little ways away, blood dripping down his jaw, blue eyes emanating concern for his friend.

Neatly, Rhia leaped from Smaug and onto the blood-soaked ground.

"What do we do," she gasped, watching as yet another one of her warriors was felled in the fire, "My eagles cannot defeat this beast, and neither can your people."

A single tear traced down Thorin's dirty cheek, the only tear Rhia had ever seen him shed. Then,

"Fall back!" He bellowed, "We must flee!"

Rhia turned to him.

"I can distract the dragon for a few minutes. Get your people to safety."

Thorin took her hand and kissed it softly, and Rhia felt something metal press into her palm.

"Go." She said, turning to what remained of her legions.

"Those of you who have strength left to fight," her strong voice penetrated the air, "Rally to me! We give our last gift in the defense of these people!"

Rhia opened her palm, staring for a moment at the mithril locket Thorin had placed there. Tucking it away, she turned and charged at Smaug, yelling. Her legions followed above her in the sky. And Thorin retreated, hatred burning his heart.

/

"Rhia?" Bilbo poked the shapeshifter's arm tentatively.

She started and stared down at the hobbit.

"What happened?"

"All of a sudden you went all strange, like you were standing here but you weren't really you. I was about to go and get help."

Rhia yanked her arm away from Bilbo, snarling.

"Never ask me about my necklace again. It was a gift, and that is all you need to know."

Bilbo backed away nervously, seeing the feral look in Rhia's eyes. Just then, the dwarves appeared on the stairway, Thorin at the front. There was an air of triumph surrounding them.

"We will fight." Thorin proclaimed.

Rhia's features broke into a genuine smile and she walked up to her old friend.

"This time," she smiled, "We will fight together.


	3. Chapter 3

**This week's chapter should hopeful make up for the woefully short chapter I posted last week! It's probably the longest chapter I've ever written. Please enjoy and please let me know what you think, your reviews mean the world to me and help me me improve my writing, especially after such a long hiatus from this site. So please review! Also I'd like to add that the comments Bofur makes in this chapter about Rhia's braids don't "mean" anything, they're just him giving Bilbo an explanation. This story is not meant to be a romance. Thanks and have a great day!**

Bilbo couldn't help but admire Rhia. She had managed to find some armour, much to her delight, that had been made for her mother during the war of Moria. It morphed with her shapes. She looked beautiful and wild, like a tiger, with her shining armour and polished knives gleaming. Another thing Bilbo had noticed, much to his shock, was that Thorin had braided Rhia's wild feather hair. It was done in the typical fashion of a dwarven warrior, knotted beautifully and intricately. When Bilbo had asked Bofur about it, he had looked stunned.

"Braiding each others' hair before going to war is a very intimate thing. Usually only wedded couples will do it, and even then it is rare. Thorin is the last person I would expect to braid another's hair."

Bilbo had frowned and turned away. There was more to Rhia and Thorin's relationship than met the eye. He decided to corner Rhia after the battle and get some answers.

For now, he could only wonder however, as he watched Rhia apply the final touch to her eagle warrior's paint. She had told him it was a tradition of the eagle shapeshifters to paint their human forms with two black lines under each eye before going into battle.

Rhia stood, her armour shining. Her scar was painted down black, and she ran two fingers across it, as if for luck, before turning to Thorin.

"Now," she smiled animalistically, "For the greatest challenge of all."

It was a good deal of the way into the battle when Bilbo saw Rhia flying away from the battle. Shocked, he looked about for Thorin, but he already knew that the king had gone with the shapeshifter.

Bilbo did, however, manage to locate Gandalf amidst the chaos. Her hurried up to him.

"Gandalf! Thorin and Rhia have left the main battle."

Gandalf smiled slightly.

"So Rhia came, did she? I must admit, I had my doubts. However, I am glad she decided to come."

"Gandalf, they're heading towards Ravenhill, where Azog is. It's a trap for them!"

Gandalf nodded.

"He has taken his best warriors. Do not be worried, Bilbo. Thorin can take care of himself."

However, as Gandalf turned away, Bilbo saw his face was creased with a frown.

Rhia landed on the icy Ravenhill falls and shifted quickly, her eyes scanning the barren winter landscape warily.

Thorin, Fili, Kili and Balin picked themselves up off the ground where Rhia had deposited them, looking disgruntled.

"You could have put us down lighter." Balin grumbled, but he stopped when Thorin sent him a pointed look. Rhia's face was set, and she looked tense.

"What is it?" Thorin murmured to her, and she turned nervously.

"They are not here. But there is something coming." Rhia nodded to the looming monolith that was the old Ravenhill fortress.

"Fili, Kili, go and scout the tunnels. If there is something coming, come back here immediately."

The brothers exchanged looks and then turned away into the fortress. Balin, Thorin and Rhia stayed silently outside, waiting.

Then, Rhia tensed.

"Thorin!" She gasped, "It's Fili and Kili. They're in danger."

"Go. I'll find you after."

Rhia looked up at Thorin one more time, then kissed the pendant he had given her so many years ago and turned into the tunnels.

Thorin lay on the ice, his arm quivering as he held Azog's sword inches from plunging into his chest. His foot throbbed with agonizing persistence. Then, Thorin realized what he needed to do.

Just as he was about to let the blade go and delve into his chest, however, another blade, that of a finely carved fighting knife, pierced through the pale orc's chest. Azog's icy blue eyes dilated then widened in shock and he stared down at his chest. Black Orc blood spilled from the wound as Rhia stepped past him and knelt by Thorin.

"What happened?" She ripped off a piece of her tunic from under her armour and gently tied it around Thorin's injured foot.

"I...I thought he was dead..." Suddenly, Thorin's eyes widened in shock, "Rhia!"

With his last breath, Azog the Defiler plunged his great sword into Thorin Oakenshield's leg.

Snarling, Rhia beheaded him, then turned back to her friend. Thorin's back was arched off the ice in pain, and his breaths were short and gasping.

"Shhhh, Thorin," Rhia stroked his hair in a rare moment of tenderness. Then, she brought down the hilt of her sword on his head, tied a tourniquet around his leg wound, and flew back towards Erebor.

Bilbo had seen Fili and Kili being brought back after the battle. They looked awful, Fili with a stab wound in his gut and Kili with too many wound to count. However, he had been told that they were both alive, although how long they would stay that way remained unknown.

The hobbit had asked everywhere for Thorin, he had even ventured into the rooms of the mountain that the elves had taken for healing their own kind. But no one had seen the dwarf king.

Bilbo now sat by the edge of the stream that flowed out of Erebor, watching the the clear, sparkling water mix with black Orc blood and the ruby red blood of the men that had fallen.

As Bilbo looked up, he was greeted by a hauntingly familiar sight. A great eagle was winging it's way over the smoking battlefield, carrying something in it's talons.

Rhia landed with an audible thump next to Bilbo, and he saw that the thing she had been carrying was Thorin.

"Is he alive?" Bilbo asked worriedly.

Rhia, who had changed back into her human form, just sat gasping on the blood soaked ground next to the dwarf. There was golden blood spilling from a wound on her arm and pooling on the ground. Finally, she looked up, her strange golden eyes filled with sorrow.

"He is alive, but his life force is ebbing. There is nothing I can do for him."

Bilbo tentatively took Rhia's hand and helped her up.

"There are healers inside the mountain that can help him."

However, Rhia hesitated.

"How do you know that they can be trusted? If he lives, he will become the king of Erebor. I am sure there are people already who would see him perish."

"We don't have a choice. Fili and Kili are in there, and they are still alive. If we leave Thorin out here, he will die and there will be no king if his nephews die as well."

Rhia shook her head, her heavy brows creasing together as she lifted Thorin almost effortlessly off the ground and carried him into Erebor.

Several hours later, Bilbo found Rhia collapsed in a stone chair, her face white as the sheets that Bilbo's neighbours in the Shire used to hang out to dry. Her left arm was wrapped tightly in a white bandage and tied to her body with a black silk sling. Her golden eyes were half lidded and she looked sick and exhausted.

"Rhia!" Bilbo exclaimed, shocked at how much undefeateable, fierce Rhia had changed over the past few hours.

Exhaustedly, Rhia lifted her head and stared at him through dull golden eyes.

"Bilbo..." She looked around with a bewildered look on her dirty face, "My arm...it was poisoned. The healers, they gave me something to dull the pain..."

Bilbo stepped forwards nervously, he had seen firsthand how dangerous the lady of the eagles could be when she was provoked. However, she barely even looked up when he took her arm and tried to lift her up without becoming completely overcome by her height.

Rhia chuckled weakly and staggered away from Bilbo's hand, coming to lean against the wall, where she rested her head on the cool stone of the wall. Bilbo noticed that even though they were messy, Thorin's warrior braids still adorned her feather like hair.

"Come on," Bilbo took her arm and guided her away from the wall gently, "You should be in bed."

To his shock, Rhia followed without a complaint, her eyes heavy and clouded with exhaustion and fever.

Dain's warriors seemed more than happy to give up a bedroom for the beautiful lady of the eagles. As she stumbled by, they stared at her with a strange mix of fear, distaste and lust. Bilbo was glad when they escaped their odd glances into the privacy of the small stone chamber, fitted with a wooden four poster bed and a dresser.

Rhia sat down hard on the bed, looking about blearily.

"Thank you...master Baggins." She mumbled as one of her large, scarred hands fumbled with her sword belt. Finally she undid it and let it slide to the floor.

"Get some rest," Bilbo said as he walked towards the door. As he turned one more time before he shut it, he noticed Rhia was already fast asleep.

Bilbo returned half an hour later bearing two packets of Lembas bread and news concerning the company.

Rhia was standing at the wall when he returned, cleaning her sword as though nothing had happened. When he entered, she looked up sharply, once again reminding the hobbit that she was not human.

"Master Baggins," she said coldly, placing her sword on the bed with her good arm, "What news of the company?"

Bilbo offered her Lembas, which she pointedly ignored, staring at him instead with those piercing eagle eyes.

Sighing, Bilbo sat on the bed.

"Kili will live. The healers just finished stitching his wounds and Tauriel is sitting with him now. Fili's wounds have been tended, but he is very weak. However, the healers say if he lives through tonight he will most likely survive."

"And Thorin?" Rhia twisted her warrior braids almost nervously, and once again Bilbo wondered at the depth of their friendship.

"The healers repaired the damage to his leg and foot. It will give him a lot of pain, but he will survive. He asked after you."

Rhia nodded.

"He has survived much worse. May I go see him?"

Bilbo hesitated, remembering how a mere half hour ago Rhia had been unable to stand by herself.

"Are you sure about your arm..." He trailed off when her eyes met his in a glare.

"Shapeshifters heal much faster than mortals. The poison has removed itself from my system; by tonight there will be no more than a scar in place of the wound."

She smiled coldly, her scar stopping her mouth from smiling all the way. Bilbo shuddered a little; he had seen many things on this quest, but Rhia was one of the strangest.

He watched as she draped a blue coat over her shoulders and ran a dirty hand over her face, leaving a handprint on her newly cleansed face.

"I will go to him." She declared, and swept from the room with the grandeur and poise of a queen.


End file.
